Chef Budi
Kazali’s latest culinary project was actually 13 years in the making.

“We knew
right from the start that we would want to do a remodel,” says Mr. Kazali, who,
with wife Chris, bought the Ballard Inn & Restaurant in 2004. “But when
you’re open 364 days a year – every day except Christmas – there’s never a good
time to stop.”

Remodel or
not, the Kazalis’ property in the historic Ballard Township, close to Los
Olivos and Solvang, has become a destination all its own over the years. The
inn, with its 15 uniquely themed rooms, all with plush bedding and lovely
country décor, is one of the top-rated places to stay in the Santa Ynez Valley.
And the restaurant, with a season-centric menu and region-centric wine list,
and with Mr. Kazali’s notable reputation, is one of the very few AAA 4-Diamond
restaurants in Santa Barbara County.

Today, the
property is finally enjoying a facelift.

The couple
took a leap of faith earlier this year when they shut down for 17 days. The
focus was almost entirely downstairs; the rooms, most all on the second floor,
had seen sporadic upgrades over the years. This overhaul focused on the inn’s
reception area and living room, and in particular on the restaurant’s dining
room. “It was complete chaos,” laughs Mr. Kazali, recalling the round-the-clock
project that had construction teams working overtime and even living at the
inn. The toughest phase was the flooring. “After it was waxed and stained,
there was no standing on it for five days – it halted everything!”

The revamped dining room at the Ballard Inn

The new and
improved Ballard Inn & Restaurant features a succinctly fresher feel, with
a muted palette of colors and elegant furnishings. Quaintness and comfort
prevail, though, “in that wonderful New England bed-and-breakfast style that
Chris and I love,” says Mr. Kazali.

The crowning
jewel of the project is Chef Kazali’s reimagined restaurant, which he’s
deliberately dubbed, The Gathering Table. “We wanted a dining concept based on
food that’s shareable,” he says. “It’s the way I like to eat: I want to try
every plate that comes out!”

The eatery’s
centerpiece communal table fits up to 14 people, “perfect for a large party,”
says the chef. “But when we’re seating different guests, we only serve up to
eight, so it doesn’t get too cramped.”The rest of the 40-seat dining room features round tables and booths, but
the white linens are gone. “We’ve gone more cozy, less fine dining. More casual
and even kid-friendly. We don’t want to be labeled as a once-a-year spot but,
instead, a place guests and local can visit a few times a month.”

The new
menu, which mirrors the chef’s famous knack for Asian-French fusion, is
arranged from lighter to heartier dishes. Portions are smaller – five to six
ounces, generally – to encourage not only sharing, but also personalizing. “A
couple can create their own tasting menu and order, maybe, five things off the
menu,” says Mr. Kazali. “A larger party can really have fun by ordering a lot
of different things.” And prices have been brought down.

Grilled Filet Mignon

Hamachi

Desserts rotate regularly

Among the new highlights at The Gathering Table: Oysters on the Half Shell ($24 a dozen); Cheese Fondue ($7); Manila Clams with chorizo and garlic toast ($13); Octopus Sashimi with squid ink vinaigrette and spicy yuzu aioli ($15); and Sliders with white cheddar, housemade pickles and shoestring potatoes ($7 each).

﻿

Chef Budi Kazali

Several
signature Kazali dishes, including larger stand-along entrees, remain, like his
Hamachi with avocado and soy vinaigrette ($15); a Pork Belly with Napa cabbage
fondue ($14); the Hudson Valley foie gras with caramelized cherry and port
glaze ($18); the Duck Breast with spring vegetable medley ($22); and his
Marinated Hanger Steak with spicy charrd Brussel sprouts ($23). The kitchen,
which Chef Kazali shares with three longtime cooks, also features daily
specials. And the chef’s well-known predilection for what’s fresh, including
working with regional purveyors and visiting farmers’ markets weekly,
continues.

The new
menu, though, has allowed Mr. Kazali to “move away from more traditional
cooking, like always having to do starches and sauces,” and create dishes that
are lighter and that allow guests to experiment.

“People have
become more conscientious about what they’re eating,” says the chef.“They understand food more and they ask all
the right questions. It’s good -- it keeps me on my toes and makes me push the
envelope.”

The
shareable slant to the food has also spurred greater interest in
wines-by-the-glass. “Guests can try different wines as they order more things –
it’s very pairing-driven,” says Mr. Kazali, who’s managing the wine list until
a sommelier joins the team. The beverage program at The Gathering Table includes signature cocktails and premium sake, though the wine list remains
Santa Barbara-inspired; about 80% of the rotating selection is local.

“I didn’t
name myself, it was my peers,” he admits. “But I’m pretty sure I’ve worked with
more grenache than most people in the state.”

The Oahu
native began his love affair with the Rhone grape (and the most widely planted
red wine grape in the world) in 1999, his first harvest at Santa Barbara’s
Beckmen Vineyards. He speaks of grenache in devotional terms: “It deserves to
be shown respect. Even if you think you’re doing everything right, you still
need to nudge things in her direction, where she wants to go. Just like with
any woman. And it has the greatest payoff in the world.”

The Grenache King

Sigouin
attributes an upbringing shaped in large part by affectionate women, and by a
pervasive respect for women, for his kinship with grenache. Many of his peers,
he suggests, don’t have the necessary patience to allow grenache to reach its
full potential. It can be so prolific, “they plant it in hot places and let it
grow and grow to use as a bulk wine producer,” he says. Sigouin’s hands-on vineyard
approach includes dropping two-thirds of his fruit to allow the best grapes to
grow, regularly manicuring and picking late in the season. “It’s a waiting
game, it takes patience,” he insists. And when you give grenache all the time it deserves,
“the skins thin out, color comes out, you get that beautiful character of the
tannins and this great texture and minearality.”

Sigouin
launched his label, Kaena (Hawaiian for “potential for greatness"), in 2001;
after juggling stints at both Fess Parker and Beckmen (as head winemaker), he
went full time with his pet project in 2014. He now makes about 5000 cases of
wine a year, including a grenache blanc, a grenache rosé and eight different
grenaches, most of them vineyard-specific. “I’ve isolated some places that grow
really great grenache,” says the winemaker. That's important, because the flavors of grenache
very much reflect the site where it grows, he says. “Ballard Canyon, between Buellton and
the 154 – that’s the sweet spot. Not too hot, not too cool, just right.”

It makes
perfect sense, then, that Kaena would consider International Grenache Day a
legit holiday. It celebrates it in style each year, and this year’s fete with
Jeff Olsen at Buellton noshing hot spot Industrial Eats fires on all
gastronomic cylinders. It takes place Friday, September 15, at 7pm,
and just a handful of $100 tickets remain. Get yours at kaenawine.com.

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoophotos by Jakob Laymanstory published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 9/7/17

“Not much of
what we do is typical,” admits Philip Frankland Lee, chef-owner of Los
Angeles-based ScatchlRestaurants. It’s a mantra that has served him and his
partner-wife, Margarita Kallas-Lee, well in the last few years, and which
speaks to the imaginative slant to the way they do business.

“It doesn’t
cost any more to have an original idea,” he adds.

The
buzzed-about chef’s star has been rising steadily since the couple launched
their latest their multi-layered endeavor in Encino in 2015. Four restaurants
in all – four storefronts connected through the back – including the marquee
eatery, ScratchlBar, where chefs playing servers drives a personalized experience
and where tasting menus can feature 25 courses. As the name implies, most
everything on the menu is made by hand and from scratch. The couple also runs
Frankland’s Crab & Co., Woodley Proper and SushilBar, all on the second floor of a strip mall along Ventura Blvd.

“Instead of
one giant space it’s four spaces of different sizes, four different styles and
four different levels of commitment,” says Chef Lee. “It reminds me of a great
hotel in South Beach or Las Vegas where you go in and have several restaurants
on the first floor. I like that.”

Philip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee

The Lees are
hoping the concept will translate just as successfully to Montecito, where,
between now and the end of the year, they plan to premier four unique concepts
inside the Montecito Inn. The 2500-square-foot bar and eatery spaces that flank
the historic hotel’s entrance along Coast Village Road have been closed and
covered up to walkers-by for more than a year. This will be the culinary
couple’s first business venture outside of L.A., though not entirely in
unfamiliar territory. “I grew up and went to high school in the San Fernando
Valley,” says Mr. Lee, 30, “and I remember spending quite a bit of time in
Santa Barbara.”

The Lees are
revealing their four concepts in stages, beginning later this month with the
second outpost for Frankland’s Crab & Co. Located inside the inn’s former
cocktail bar, this casual spot will be accessible from the street and will
feature standards like “peel-and-eat shrimp, lobster rolls, crab rolls, clam chowder
and fried chicken sandwiches,” says Chef Lee. “Like a Malibu or county line
crab shack.” Food, ordered via walk-up counter, will be for dine-in or
take-out.

"Scratch" in the works at the Montecito Inn (my pic)

October will
see the launch of The Monarch inside the longtime former home of The Montecito
Café, just off the hotel’s lobby. Breakfast, lunch and dinner items will focus
on Central Coast vegetables, seafood and game and will be complemented a
regionally focused wine list and by cocktails prepped at a newly built 40-foot
bar. The Monarch will also handle room service for Montecito Inn guests.

Margarita’s
Home Made Iced Cream will open in October, too, a pet project of Mrs.
Kallas-Lee, an accomplished pastry chef. Orders will be taken at a counter
inside The Monarch as well as through a walk-up window along Coast Village
Road. “I envision ice cream as a composed dish: the sprinkles complement the
ice cream, which complements the cone,” says Mrs. Kallas-Lee, 28, who plans on
featuring eight different types of cones. “And everything will be made from
scratch and with natural ingredients. Like the sprinkles – things like beet
powder and lavender oil and a little charcoal for color.” Among her sweet
creations: chocolate ganache ice cream on a chocolate cone with dulce de leche
sprinkles; roasted plantain ice cream in a corn cone with corn sprinkles; and triple-crème
camembert ice cream in a sourdough waffle cone with sourdough breadcrumbs, wild
honey and lavender sprinkles.

“There will
be standards, but I like focusing on ingredients not usually highlighted in
desserts,” she says.

Lobster rolls at Frankland's Crab & Co. in Encino

The Lees are
most tight-lipped about their final concept, due in late December. The Silver
Bough will focus on luxury dining – “The French Laundry for Santa Barbara,”
says Chef Lee – with only 16 seats and only two seatings per night. Located in
a space toward the back of the hotel and not visible from the street, the fine
dining venue will require reservations up to a month in advance and will give
seating preference to inn guests.

The couple,
who’ve been married for five years, is living at the Montecito Inn while their
latest enterprise unfolds. They admit their vision is ambitious but believe
it’s in synch with today’s foodie culture, and therefore timely. “Ten year ago,
it was difficult to eat well, then it was expensive,” says Chef Lee. “Now,
eating well is more convenient and very much in fashion.” And the pair sees
their arrival in Montecito as a partnership with nearby restaurants, not as a
rivalry. “We don’t look at it as competition because no one is serving the same
food as we are,” says the chef. “The more successful and the stronger the
restaurant community, the better we’re all going to do.”

The hottest
new spot for lunch in Los Olivos is actually on four wheels.

The First
& Oak Food Truck rolled into town in May. It’s an extension of the culinary
offering by Chef Steven Snook and his team at First & Oak, the Solvang
restaurant that’s easily become one of the most buzzed about places for dinner
in the Santa Ynez Valley. Chef Snook, who worked under celeb chef Gordon Ramsay
in London and New York before moving to the West Coast, is celebrating two
years at First & Oak next month.

“The
ingredients, the processing, the methodology are foundationally the same,” says
Chef Snook, comparing his food truck fare against the fine dining experience at
First & Oak. “The final product on the truck, though, is more approachable
and simple.”

The food
truck is all about crepes right now. The savory selections are most popular
with the lunchtime crowds, Chef Snook says, with options like braised beef short rib and
fried chicken with gravy. “We treat the crepe as a vessel rather than a standalone item,”
says the chef, acknowledging that the French culinary staple is a far newer
concept to many wine country visitors. A First & Oak crepe is perforated
and shaped like a cone, which allows it to be stuffed with myriad ingredients.
“We’re taking the basic crepe concept and expanding it to make it more fun and
engaging."

Chef Steven Nook (credit: Tenley Fohl)

Sweet selections include ice cream, caramelized bananas with candied hazelnuts
and roasted peanut butter with dulce de leche and chocolate “We’ve also got our
take on the great American cherry pie,” says the chef, an English native.
“Cherry pie filling with crushed graham crackers and a white wine reduction.”

The focus on
crepes is a tip of the hat to Bernard Rosenson, the Southern California
restaurateur who owns First & Oak and the Mirabelle Hotel in Solvang where
it’s housed, along with popular Sky Room restaurant in Long Beach. “He grew up
in France, and crepes were one of his favorite childhood foods,” says his son,
Jonathan, who helps manage all of the family businesses.

The Rosensons
also own the Coquelicot wine tasting room in Los Olivos, which serendipitously,
if not cleverly, allows them to circumvent some of the famously restrictive
county rules about where food trucks can set up shop that have already driven
other eateries-on-wheels out of town. The truck is parked on the Coquelicot
patio, which is private property.

“In fact, we
encourage folks to come enjoy their crepes at the tasting room, and we give
them 20% off wine flights or bottles,” says the younger Rosenson. Coquelicot
features organic estate wines, from Riesling to cabernet sauvignon and a
variety of blends; its sister label, the smartly dubbed Rose & Son, is a
project by Jonathan Rosenson that features fresh, approachable, more affordable
wines.

The truck
serves guests on weekends – Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from about 11am to
about 4pm. It’s equipped to do more, though. This is a converted 25-passenger
bus that was gutted, reframed with steel and outfitted with brand new
restaurant equipment: two crepe wheels, a grill, ovens, burners, a deep fryer,
a salamander broiler and refrigeration and freezer space. That means the truck
is available during the week for catering, and Chef Snook and his team have
already cooked at rehearsal dinners, concerts, festivals and a bevy of winery
and estate events from Santa Barbara to Santa Maria.

One of Chef Snook's savory crepes

With the
success of crepes – the truck can dole out up to 150 on a good day – Chef Snook
is already working on expanding the food truck menu – French boulangerie-style items, like salads and
croc monsieurs. All the while, he’s
conscientious about his gastronomic neighbors. “I don’t want to step on anyone
else’s toes,” says the chef. “We’re not introducing direct competition but,
rather, expanding the variety available to visitors.”

The unique
appeal of the First & Oak truck, though, the only semi-permanent food truck
in the Santa Ynez Valley, is undeniable. “It’s an easy walk-up and within
minutes you have lunch in your hands and you’re off again,” says Chef Snook.
“It’s quick and easy, and it’s pretty filling.”

In 2002, the very first wine column I
ever wrote – a regular guy’s foray into the world of wine in Santa Barbara –
was about a brand new pet project called SAMsARA. Ever since, this small,
hands-on label founded by Chad and Mary Melville has stayed the course,
producing complex wines with a focus on fruit source and quality, and it has gained
steady critical acclaim. Last week, SAMsARA entered a new chapter, as it was
sold for an undisclosed sum to long-time club members, Joan and Dave Szkutak.

SAMsARA is a Sanskrit word that, on its
website, the founders define as, “The eternal circle of life… one of passion,
oneness and harmony.”

SAMsARA winemaker Matt Brady (credit: Andrew Schoneberger)

The brand “was born before our
children were even born, so I couldn’t imagine SAMsARA living on under someone
else’s ownership,” said Chad Melville in the press release that announced the
sale. “But when Joan and Dave expressed an interest in getting into the wine
business, the idea of a sale began to take shape. They’re big fans of Santa
Barbara County wines and have been dedicated SAMsARA customers for years”

New ownership, though, also brings something
familiar to SAMsARA: winemaker Matt Brady. The 34-year-old has garnered his own
following ever since he landed his first wine industry gig at Jaffurs Wine
Cellars in 2005, when he was still at UCSB. He was promoted to co-winemaker in
2012 and to head winemaker in 2015. Brady left Jaffurs this past March.

“There was this organic, really good
feeling about the whole thing,” says Brady about the few months that followed,
when he explored opportunities with Chad Melville and heard that the Szkutaks,
whom he knew well as long-time customers at Jaffurs, were eyeing a buy.
“Everyone involved felt early on that we were moving in the right direction.”

I asked Brady this week about the
viability of boutique Santa Barbara labels like SAMsARA, several of which have
also changed hands in recent years: Brewer-Clifton was bought up by
Kendall-Jackson in May; and Jaffurs, itself, was sold by founder Craig Jaffurs to
winemaker Dan Green last year.

“Does it all boil down to affording all
the necessary resources?” I ask.

“Yes, but the most important resource in
Chad’s case was time, especially with his increased role at Melville,” says
Brady. In fact, Chad Melville became full-time winemaker at celebrated Melville
Winery, which was founded by his dad Ron in 1989, when longtime winemaker Greg
Brewer left two years ago. “It can be hard to give everything the time it
needs, and we all saw this sale as an opportunity to give more focus to the
SAMsARA brand.”

SAMsARA produces pinot noir from
multiple lauded estates, like Cargassachi and Rancho la Vina, as well as
vineyard-specific grenache and syrah wines from properties like Larner and
Melville. Prices range from $24 to $60 per bottle. As for the SAMsARA style,
Brady says it’ll remain intact: “Savory, meaty, spicy stuff from cool-climate
sites that exhibit real elegance. Lots of whole clusters, minimal handling in
the cellar and a long time in barrel. Powerful wines with lots of body, texture
and aromatics.”

One thing is new:“We’re starting a chardonnay program this
year,” says Brady, who harvested chard from John Sebastiano Vineyard and
Zotovich Vineyards, both in Sta. Rita Hills, just this week. “I’m really
excited because my goal is to make chardonnay in the style I want to drink: all
neutral oak, acid-driven but big on texture and body.”

SAMsARA has a tasting room in Los
Olivos, at 2446 Alamo Pintado Avenue, which is open Thursday through Monday.
Find out more at samsarawine.com.

About Me

Welcome to the online home of Gabe Saglie. Gabe is Senior Editor for Travelzoo and a respected travel contributor for dozens of TV news programs and national shows. Gabe is also a longtime wine and food writer based in Santa Barbara, California, where he lives with his wife, two boys and daughter.